The Heart's Wings
by Hime Nadeshiko
Summary: Mikan left Alice Academy and now attends Seiyo. She meets all sorts of new people, gains new "friends", develops a certain hatred of someone...and Charas? Sort-of prequel to A Second Chance.
1. Chapter 1

Hi! After a while, I decided to rewrite A Second Chance, since I got a serious writer's block. In a way, this is sort of a prequel to ASC, because it describes Mikan's time at Seiyo. I already have the next few chapters written, so they're coming soon. (I'm uploading this at 11:30 pm...I'm supposed to be sleeping...)

~Hime Nadeshiko

* * *

Mikan sighed. She was laying in bed, thinking about yesterday's events.

_"Ohayo minna!" I shouted. Internally, I heaved a big sigh. I hate being so loud. But, I had to be "innocent", so I had to be so loud. "Baka..." muttered Hotaru. "Awww... you don't have to be so mean."I said as I pretended to be offended. "Get away from me. You're useless." she muttered as she tinkered with her invention. _

_I froze. Usually, she would mutter "Baka..." again, or ignore me. She has never said anything so hurtful to me, which is saying something. I was still shaking a bit, despite my training, as I walked by Ruka-pyon and the rest of my friends. As I weakly said "Hi", they gave me a hard glare. I was shocked. I was their friend... how could they treat me like this? "We were never your friends. We were just using you." Anna and Nonoko growled. I froze. _

_They were just using me? After I had done my best to try to cheer them up? After I tried to protect them and trained long and hard to get my SEC Alice under my full control? How could they do this to me? After a long silence, I continued walking to my seat with my eyes hidden under my bangs. _

_If my so called "friends" insulted me this badly, I don't even want to know what Hyuuga would say to me. During class, I let my attention wander, rather than fake paying attention, as I usually would do. I already know what the teacher was teaching, after all, no one could be as stupid as the bubbly and cheerful Mikan Sakura. My IQ was even higher than Hyuuga, Imai, and Tobita's (Inchou's) combined. Seriously though, I still don't know what to do after my "friends" abandoned me._

She shook her head. "No! I can't afford to think about them, not here, not now." Mikan sighed again. "Still, I wonder why they did that. Was I that much of a nuisance?" She whispered to herself, a lone tear escaping from the corner of her eye. She shook her head, wiping the tear away. "I'm a big baby. I won't cry." She wondered what it was like to be a living statue, like Natsume and Hotaru. She remembered Ruka's "innocence".

She was here to start a "new life", to turn over a new leaf.

Mikan looked around her new room. It was decorated in shades of orange, living up to her name. It was a fairly large room, seeing as she lived in an apartment building. Her uncle had wanted to get her a whole house, but she turned it down. After all, only one person in house…it was too lonely. He had also offered to pay her rent, but she also declined. She wanted to be able to support herself. There was an almost empty pale green bookshelf on the wall across her bed. There was a small built in closet in the wall at the foot of her bed, and a wooden desk painted the same shade as her bookshelf was across from the head of her bed.

Her new book bag was slung over her wheeled chair, already packed with the proper supplies. On the seat of the chair was her folded uniform for her new school, Seiyo Academy. The uniform consisted of a pleated plaid violet skirt, a crisp white shirt, a violet plaid tie, and a black blazer. She had several more uniforms and other clothes in her closet.

Other than that, her room was empty. Outside of her room was a kitchen/living room and a bathroom. The kitchen was large, and there was a sofa across from where the counter was. It was small, but cozy. Just the way Mikan liked it.

**Beep. Beep. Beep. Slam.**

Mikan slammed her hand on the Dismiss button on her alarm clock. She stretched and smiled. Today was her first day at Seiyo, and she was entering the Seventh grade. She pushed her hand over so get of the bed, but her hand bumped into something. Or somethings. She looked towards her right hand. There were three…eggs?

"Eggs!?" Mikan exclaimed. Sure, she wasn't the loud, overly enthusiastic ditz anymore, but this was certainly surprising.

The first egg was tinted a deep violet and had a pale golden crescent moon. The second was sky blue, with a silver star. The third was a vibrant green with a white heart with wings on the side.

Mikan sat staring at the eggs for another few minutes before shrugging it off. If there were Alices, then there must some other… magic, she supposed. Speaking of Alices, Persona had warned her not to let others see her use her Alice. If anyone did, use the Memory Erasing Alice, he had said, and to stay in a disguise to make sure no one recognized her.

She picked up her uniform and pulled it on and looked at herself in the full-length mirror hanging behind the door. She had decided on silver hair and clear blue eyes, since she had never seen anyone with that combination. She wore knee length white stockings and the standard black shoes.

After getting dressed, she pondered on whether to bring the eggs to Seiyo or not. She wanted to, to make sure they would be safe. On the other hand, she knew next to nothing about Seiyo. How would she know that others wouldn't try to steal them?

After minutes of intense internal debate, she decided to bring them. It would be even more risky to leave them in her apartment, where someone could break in while she was at school.

She looked at the clock hanging on top of the sofa. It read 7:30 am. School started at 8:00 am. Mikan smiled softly. She would have time to walk to school at a relatively comfortable pace. Her apartment was only a ten-minute's walk from school.

Mikan picked up her book bag and slung it over her shoulder, slipping the three eggs inside. She walked out of her apartment door, labeled 3C.

Once outside, she inhaled deeply, breathing in the crisp and cool October air. The trees on the side of the road were a flaming red and gold laced with green. The leaves on the ground were a mix of brown, red, orange, yellow and green. The birds were chirping cheerfully, without a care in the world, except for the long migratory journey ahead.

Mikan remembered when she genuinely used to be like that, before she was aware of Alices, and the corners of her mouth pulled down several millimeters. Was that what caused _them_ to dislike her? She knew that that wasn't her true personality, yet it was a part of her. She couldn't change what happened in the past, and that was how she acted.

Before Mikan knew it, she was in front of Seiyo's gates. It was not as large as Alice Academy's but that was to be expected. There was a large crowd milling around, chatting with friends. She was only halfway to the front doors when the huge crowd parted straight down the middle. And Mikan, being in the middle, followed the crowd, and parted as well. She could see six people, five of which were wearing capes.

(A/N~ If you watched Shugo Chara, you might not want to read the descriptions, since they're pretty long. If you haven't than please continue.)

The first was a blonde. He reminded Mikan of Ruka. The only difference was that the boy's eyes were…pinkish red? His blonde hair was tilted a bit more towards gold, where Ruka's was a bit more on the 'dirty blonde' side.

The next was a taller brown haired boy with emerald green eyes. He seemed cheerful, waving at everyone and shouting greetings.

The final boy had long lavender colored hair, up to his waist and golden eyes. He was also waving and smiling, but nothing like what the brown haired boy was doing. They were wearing the boy's uniform, a black blazer, green plaid shorts and tie. Unlike the other boys, they were wearing green plaid capes.

There was a girl who looked exactly like they lavender boy. Their hair was the same length and shade of lavender, and they had the same golden eyes. She had her hair in a elastic nadeshiko hair tie, and was wearing the girl's uniform.

The next girl had honey brown hair and matching eyes. She had the hair in two childish pigtails held up in two big red bows. She was jumping up and down enthusiastically, waving at the crowd. "Yaya-tan is here!" She exclaimed. So her name is Yaya.

The last one had bubble gum pink hair and honey colored eyes. She was the only one the group of six that wasn't wearing the cape. She walked in a cool way, ignoring the crowd and holding her book bag over her shoulder. "Yaya, calm down!" She barked at Yaya. "But Aaaammuu-chiiii, I'm so excited! Tsukasa- san says there's a special new student!"

"Really?" 'Amu' asked. Yaya scowled. "Where was your brain during yesterday's Guardian meeting? Oh! I know! You were too busy staring at Tadas-mmpphh!" 'Amu' had clamped her hand over Yaya's mouth, successfully silencing the girl.

Mikan groaned. So much for holding a low profile. With every student within earshot hanging on to their every word, everyone would know that there was a new student.

Still though, that wasn't the strangest thing about them. Each of them had one, or several, chibi people floating around. Mikan looked around. Their eyes were glued to the Guardians, and they didn't seem to notice the chibis.

The one at the lead had light violet hair, in the same style as the blonde's, and clear blue eyes. He was wearing 'clothes fit for a king'. With the puffy trousers, fur trimmed cape, and golden crown, he certainly seemed like a king.

Another had spiky green hair. He had a white…headband(A/N~ Not sure if that's what it's called) with a yellow star, a yellow t-shirt, white shorts, and yellow, and yellow and white sneakers..

The next two seemed to be twins. The female was wearing a kimono decorated with nadeshiko flowers and had a straight cut ponytail held up by two nadeshiko flowers. The other was male, with a white cap, a white shirt, a blue ski vest, jeans, and headphones around his neck.

Mikan switched her gaze to one of the other chibis. This one had a pink cap, pink footie pajamas, a bib, and a pacifier.

The last four hung out in a group of four. The first was wearing a cheerleading uniform, a cut off pink cap with a red heart clip, a red bandana tied around her neck, knee length pink socks, and pink sneakers.

The next had a blue themed outfit. It was similar to the boys' elementary uniform, with a black blazer-like vest, a puffy cap with a blue spade, and a light blue satchel.

The green one was dressed like a maid, and was giggling like one too. She had a piece of cloth that pulled her hair back, a green clover, and had two curly strands framing her face. She wore a puffy short-sleeved green dress and an apron on top.

The last one had orange hair in two large pigtails, a diamond headband with a clip-on mike, a short yellow shirt, skirt and stockings. They all were chatting amongst themselves like old friends

"Who are they?" She asked a young boy next to her with a camera, wearing the blue elementary boys' uniform.

The young boy gasped, holding his camera to his heart. Then he blinked, taking in Mikan's full appearance. "U-u-uh…they're the guardians!" He exclaimed, with his face as red as a tomato. "The blonde is Hotori Tadase, King's Chair. The ones with lavender hair are Fujisaki Nadeshiko and Nagihiko, twins. Nadeshiko is the Queen's Chair and Nagihiko is the Jack's Chair." The boy paused to make sure Mikan was following. She nodded. "Go on."

"The boy with brown hair is Souma Kukai, the back-up and original Jack's Chair. Back when most of them were in elementary, Kukai was going to middle school, leaving a hole, which was filled by Sanjou Kairi. Then he left and Fujisaki-san came after studying overboard. Now that they're all in middle school, Souma-san is back up in case anything happened to Fujisaki-san.

"The brown haired girl is Yuiki Yaya. She's a year younger than most of the Guardians, and two years younger than Souma-san. She's the Ace's Chair. The final one is Hinamori Amu." He said her name with a sigh. Mikan grinned. It was no secret that he was madly in love with her.

"Hinamori Amu transferred here two years ago and was immediately recruited into the Guardians by Fujisaki Nadeshiko-san. She tried to resist for a while, but the Guardians were persistent, and so they got what they wanted." He informed her.

"Thanks, but what are the guardians? You mention them a whole lot. Oh, and do you see the little floating chibis?" Mikan asked.

"The Guardians are a student organization, you know, they paperwork and all that, but they seem to leave in the middle of class every once in a while, but never get in trouble for it. I don't see any chibis, none at all." He shrugged.

"Thanks, you're very informative." Mikan thanked. "You're welcome." He said while blushing.

By the end of the time they finished talking, the Guardians and most of the students were already in the school.

She waved goodbye to the young elementary school boy, and headed to the office. The hallways were painted white, and the doors were wood brown. Mikan stopped when she reached a door was labeled OFFICE. She pushed the door open.

Inside were a few office ladies busy with phones and paperwork. One looked up and spotted Mikan.

"Oh! You're the new student aren't you? Yukihara Sakura Mikan?" Mikan nodded. "The superintendant wants to see you." She said, pointing to a door on the left. Mikan thanked her, and headed towards the door.

The door was marked SUPERINTENDENT.

The superintendent looked vaguely familiar. He had light brown, coffee colored hair and eyes that strongly reminded her of amethysts. He was sitting behind a desk in the middle of the room, with a bookshelf filled with books, but they were cased off with glass, with a keyhole in every shelf.

On either side of the bookshelf were potted plants. In front of the desk were two comfortable looking chairs. A name plate on the desk read AMAKAWA TSUKASA.

Didn't Yuiki-san mention a Tsukasa before?

"Hello." He said, smiling pleasantly. "You're the new student? Yukihara Mikan?"  
"Yes." She replied.  
"Sit down please," He gestured towards the chairs.  
Obediently, Mikan took a seat. Tsukasa handed her a thick folder. "Inside is your class schedule, club pamphlets, and everything else you might need." He said with twinkling eyes. Somehow, Mikan found those eyes slightly suspicious. It was like he knew something she didn't, something important.

"You're in 7-c, Star Class, and your homeroom is in room 312." He smiled.  
Mikan narrowed her eyes, but couldn't find anything suspicious, so she left and headed to room 312.

'There's something suspicious about him.' Mikan thought. 'Him and the Guardians. Who are those little chibi people?' She remembered them laughing on the way to school, the envying stares they receives. She clenched her fists. They all looked so happy. They had everything she everything she ever wanted, from good, supporting friends, to respect from the whole student body. Especially that Hinamori Amu. She was as cold as just as Mikan was clumsy.

Both were an act. She could see it in the way that she scolded Yaya, that she cared. She saw the glances that Tadase had sent her way, and Yaya had mentioned Amu having a crush on him. All this, without blowing her 'Cool & Spicy' cover.

Hotaru and Natsume were never like that. Natsume couldn't care less about what happened to her. Hotaru blasted her with her Baka Gun every chance, every available excuse she had. And Ruka didn't really help. The others stayed away, afraid of Hotaru, afraid of what she could do to them. She snorted. Some great friends they were.

While she was thinking, she didn't notice something slip from the large folder she was carrying. It was swept away, down the hall, only to land at someone's feet.

* * *

So, how was it? Please review!


	2. Hikari and Easter

It's Hime Nadeshiko again! I updated really soon! I've already written up to about Chapter 6 or 7, depending on how I split it. I'm reading it over and adding on or taking off. I won't have a lot of time to update, because of the stress from the SHSATs, even though I'm not taking them until next year. If you were wondering, it's a test unique to students of New York (...I think). So if you know about the SHSATs, you know my real age. I'm probably younger than you expected.

~Hime Nadeshiko, October 14, 2012

* * *

Amu picked up the thin colored children's book that had landed at her feet. She bent down to retrieve it. The other Guardians, noticing that she had stopped, stopped as well.

"What have you got there, Amu-chi?" Yaya asked, curious. Amu scrunched her eyebrows. It was a copy of _The Heart's Egg._ "Isn't that the book Tadase's uncle wrote.?" Miki asked.

"Huh? Why would anyone have something like that?" Kukai asked.

"Hey, look!" Nadeshiko pointed to the end of the hallway. Amu craned her neck over the heads of her fellow, taller Guardians. She saw the ends of long, shining silver hair.

She seemed to have heard Nadeshiko, for she turned around, revealing her face. Amu gawked, and she wasn't the only one. She had pale skin that seemed to be made of porcelain, and as delicate as snow. She didn't have a fully developed figure, and yet, she took Amu's breath away. However, the most striking feature were her eyes. They were cold, piercing, analyzing, and a beautiful, clear blue. She had a crisp, cool feature that Amu herself was never sure to have.

Next to her, Kukai picked his jaw up from the floor.

Mikan was broken out of her rather negative thoughts when a sudden, slow, freezing sensation slowly began creeping into a corner of her heart. And just like that, it was gone. She shook her head. It must have been her imagination.

"Hey, look!" She heard a voice exclaim behind her. She turned around. It was all of the Guardians, and they were staring at her as if she had grown another head. She didn't look that bad, did she? She scowled when she noticed Hinamori Amu at the back of the group, holding what seemed to be several sheets of paper.

Mikan scowled, turned on her heels, and made a right. Her homeroom was the second door on the right hand side of the hallway. Sooner than she would have liked, she was at the front of the door. Steeling herself, she pushed open the door.

Luckily, not one person took a glance her was, too preoccupied with friends. Mikan took a seat next to the windows, having a good view of the large sports field below. There was a grassy soccer field, an asphalt basketball court, and a volleyball net stretched over another field.

Mikan heard the door slide open. At the door were Amu, Nadeshiko, Tadase, and a person she assumed was that he the teacher.

The teacher had caramel colored hair, several shades more 'orange' than Mikan's herself with more than just several strands sticking out, glasses, olive eyes, and a casual, loose brown suit. He was carrying a large stack of paper work, which he dumped with a rather loud _Plop!_ on his desk.

"Okay class! We'll be starting by taking attendance! To refresh your memory, I'm Yuu, Yuu Nikaidou!"

Mikan was instantly reminded of her of Narumi, but with a decent fashion sense.

…

…  
"Yukihara Mikan?"  
Mikan raised her head.  
"Here."  
"Huh? Where are you?" He asked.  
Mikan simply raised her hand, causing the entire class to turn their heads her way. She turned her head back to look outside the window.

"I assume you're new? I've never had you before." Nikaidou asked. Mikan nodded. "Okay then! I'll assign you a guide. Who want to be Mikan-chan's guide?" He asked the entire class. Instantly, all of the boys' hands shoot up, and a fair amount of girls do as well.

"How about….Himamori-san?" He said cheerfully. "Sensei! My name is HINAMORI! HINAMORI!" Amu exploded.

The corners of Mikan's mouth twitched. In all the short time she's known Amu, she had never seen her fly off the handle like that. She looked at Nikaidou. He was grinning even more than usual, telling Mikan that he did it on purpose.

"Any disagreements? No, okay!" He said in a rush, not giving Amu the time to respond. With a huff, Amu sat back down. Mikan winced. Sometimes, she just didn't really feel wanted, like she was a nuisance.

As the day progressed, Mikan found herself disliking Amu more and more. The entire student body of Seiyo respected and liked her to some degree, even Tadase's fan club. Some even worshipped her. In Art, Music, Home Ec., and Sports, she dominated. She would do whatever was necessary, then looked a bit confused, but composed herself quickly. Since no one seemed to notice, or care, Mikan supposed this happened quite often. Her little chibis were nowhere to be seen.

By the end of the time, Mikan wanted to go and look for a job, but Amu dragged her all the way to the doors of the Royal Garden.

"Come on! Stop struggling!" Amu yelled as she dragged Mikan to the Royal Garden. Mikan began squirming even harder, but Amu had an iron grip on her clothes. Before she knew it, they were at the doors of a huge transparent green house. Amu pushed open the doors. The first thing Mikan saw was a beautiful fountain, sprouting crystal-clear water.

Behind the fountain was a series of steps. On top of the steps were the rest of the Guardians. Nagihiko and Kukai were lounging around, Nadeshiko was pouring six cups of tea, Yaya was trying to steal a chocolate chip cookie, and Tadase was trying to stop Yaya from stealing a cookie.

Mikan looked around. The large table was under a white canopy, shielding them from the sun. There were plants on either sides of the table. A distance away were all the chibis bunched together, talking in whispers and sneaking a glance at Mikan every so often.

Once Amu had managed to drag Mikan up the steps, Mikan, picked herself up and sat herself down in an available chair. Instantly, Yaya began whining. "Nade-chi…You said I could have cookies when the guest arrived! And she arrived now! Please?!" Nadeshiko sighed, liked she dealt with this every day. On the other hand, she probably did. "Fine."

"YAAAY!" Yaya shouted, diving headfirst into the cookies, causing Mikan to sweatdrop. Tadase, seeing Mikan's face, explained. "She's like this every time we try to keep her from eating sweets. Yaya-san has quite the sweet tooth." Mikan nodded.

"We'll start with introductions shall we?" Nadeshiko offered. "Sure, why not?" Mikan muttered.

"You already know Amu, Tadase and I. This is Yuiki Yaya." She said. Yaya paused her cookie eating marathon long enough to wave, and went back to her eating. "This is Souma Kukai." Kukai flashed her a big grin. "Yo!" Came to voices. Next to Kukai was the little green haired chibi. The red haired one with the heart flew over, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him away, grumbling about stupid boys. Kukai, Nadeshiko, Tadase, and Amu panicked, before glancing back at Mikan.

Mikan grinned. "Did you just hear a couple of voices from over there?" She asked innocently, pointing towards the group, her thumb purposely off by several inches. In her mind, she was cackling, rubbing her hands together. "N-no! I'm sure it was just your imagination! Right Amu?" Nadeshiko stammered. "R-right!" Amu stiffened.

Mikan sighed the Guardians were terrible, terrible actors. She looked towards the last Guardian, Nagihiko. He had his eyes closed and his headphones on. Mikan smirked emitting a dark aura, scaring the rest of the Guardians and little chibis. She stood up, and marched towards him. Once she got close enough, she noticed the volume button was left unattended.

She giggled, grabbed the volume control buttons, and pressed + as hard as she could, as long as she could. After a few seconds, Nagihiko shot straight up and Mikan backed away quickly, behind Kukai.

"!"

And lost his headphones in the process. It slipped down to his neck. He pressed - and sighed in relief. Then, he glared at Kukai, the person closest to him. "Who did it?" He asked menacingly. Shaking, Kukai pointed his finger at Mikan. That's when he seemed to notice her. "You?" He asked suspiciously.

Mikan cocked her head and pointed at herself innocently. "Me?" He switched his glare back at Kukai and Mikan smiled deviously. "Okay, you still haven't introduced yourself to Mikan-chan over here!" Nadeshiko said cheerfully, trying to break up the tension. That did the trick.

"I'm Fujisaki Nagihiko, and Nadeshiko's twin." He said as he and Mikan shook hands. "you have quite the mischievous streak don't you Mikan-chan?" Nadeshiko asked. Mikan smiled innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about.

Mikan spent the rest of the afternoon with the Guardians. No more little chibis interrupted, but they did stare a lot. However, as the Guardians talked more and more, the topic steered towards people the they knew, and people whom Mikan didn't know. Like Yua. Who in the world was Yua? By early evening, Mikan excused herself with the excuse of homework and went home.

Once she unlocked the front door, she carefully placed her book bag on the couch and took out the eggs. She pulled out the first egg she touched. It was the moon one, and it was safe. She placed it on the kitchen table. She pulled another out. It was the heart one. Not a crack and only one more to go. She felt around her books and papers and grabbed the last egg, the star one. When she saw it, she narrowed her eyes. The colors had darkened, and there was a white X on the egg.

After a moment, the egg began to float out of her grasp as Mikan eyes it confusingly. Once it was about eyes level, she egg began to crack.

_Pop!_

In the egg's place was one of those little chibis. She had long, dark silver in a loose ponytail pulled over her shoulder. She was wearing a long sleeved, silver shirt with a dark blue trim. The sleeves fit snugly around her elbow, and floated out until it reached her hands. Where the elbow was, there was a piece of ribbon in a small bow. She was also wearing short, dark blue shorts and sandals. In her hair was a darkened star hairclip with an X over it.

"My name is Hikari, and I am your Shugo Chara." It said.  
"…a Shugo Chara?" Mikan asked curiously.  
"A Shugo Chara is a dream, desire, or aspect of yourself." Hikari explained, floating around and examining the apartment.  
"Then what part of me are you?" Mikan asked.  
Hikari stopped in midair. "The friendly, outgoing, forgiving part. And I'm musically inclined."  
Mikan frowned. "You don't seem very friendly to me."  
"It's because you stopped believing in me."  
"… Is that why you have an X?"  
"Yes."

Just then, the phone rang loudly in the silence, startling them. Mikan picked it up. "Hello?"

"Ohayo Mikan-chan!" Came a cheerful voice from the other end.  
"Yuiki-san?"  
"Yeah, it's me! You want to come hang us with tomorrow afternoon?"

"No thanks Yuiki-san, maybe some other time. I have to go get a job tomorrow."  
"Oh." Yaya sounded a bit disappointed."Well, bye."  
"Bye." Mikan placed the phone back on the table.

"How did she get your number?" Hikari asked.  
"Now that I think about it…I have no idea."

Now it was afterschool, and Mikan was in the city with Hikari, looking for a job. No one could see Hikari, seeing that they didn't have Shugo Chara or completely pure hearts. Mikan was asking around in cafes and shops if anyone had a job opening. Apparently no one did. By the time she was at the end of her patience, it already dark. She sighed and looked up. She was in front of a huge building labeled _Easter_. She got a strange vibe from the building and didn't want to go in, but she had no other option.

The inside was brightly lit. "How may I help you?" A woman who had her back turned asked her. "I came for a job?" Mikan asked hopefully. "Well, I think we have a job ope-" The woman had stopped short and stared with wide eyes at Hikari. Mikan and Hikari exchanged glances. "Uh, miss?"

"Huh? Oh, we have an opening if it's fine with you." The woman said.  
"What type of job is it?" Mikan asked cautiously.  
"Follow me." The woman said. "And call me Sanjou-san." Sanjou-san had red hair and grey eyes. She was wearing a business jacket and a knee length matching dress.  
"We need one for person for a five person band." Sanjou-san said. "I want you to be the final member. Is that okay?" Mikan nodded. Any job was better than no job at all.

Soon, they reached a door on the right side of a richly designed hallway, and Sanjou-san. Inside were four other people, all teenagers. They were all lounging around or talking with their Charas until Sanjou-san walked in. She clapped twice, and she had everyone's attention. "Utau, Ikuto, Rima, Kairi, I'd like you to meet your final band mate." She gestured to Mikan. "Introduce yourselves."

"Mashiro Rima." Rima was a petite girl with long, wavy dirty blonde hair(A/N~ I'm not really sure how to describe it…) with large, charming eyes. She had a ribbon in her hair and was wearing a simple blue dress. Her Chara was dresses like a clown with straight hair the same shade as Rima's. "I'm Kusukusu! Nice to meet you!"  
"Nice to meet you too, Rima, Kusukusu."

"Tsukiyomi Ikuto." Ikuto was tall, with midnight blue hair and eyes. He was wearing a long sleeved blue t-shirt, dark jeans, and a cross necklace. "I'm Yoru, it's a pleasure to meet you ~nya." Yoru looked like a chibified Ikuto with shorts, cat paws, feet, tail, and ears.  
"I hope we can get along."

"I'm Sanjou Kairi. Sanjou-san is my sister. Musashi is my Chara." Kairi has green hair, green eyes, glasses and was wearing a middle school uniform. Musashi was dressed like a samurai with glasses in front of purple eyes. He even had a katana, a type of Japanese sword.  
"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance ."

The final person was a female. She had long blonde hair in two pigtails and violet eyes. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a white cotton sweater. She had two Charas, one angel and one devil. The angel had short blonde hair, a halo, a pink dress, and a pair of pink angel wings. The other had dark purple hair, crimson, a bat top, and a short red skirt. She had horns, a tail with a small arrow at the tip. Mikan winced. Crimson eyes… "Are you alright?" The angel asked, concerned. "I'm fine, thanks." "I'm Eru, and my sister is Iru and Our owner is Utau- Hoshina Utau."

"Now, introduce yourself." Sanjou-san told(more like commanded) Mikan. "I'm Mikan Sakura Yukihara. This is my Chara Hikari." She pointed next to her…towards empty air. "Hikari, I'm not in the mood for jokes." Scowling, Hikari came from behind Mikan, making herself known. Sanjou-san and the others did a double take when they saw the X on her.

"What, never seen an X-Chara before?" Hikari growled. Kusukusu and Yoru nervously shook their heads. "No, we've seen an X-Chara." Musashi said. Hikari blinked. "Really? Who?" "Dia, Hinamori Amu's fourth Chara."Kusukusu answered.

There it was- Hinamori Amu again. Sanjou-san must have seen Mikan's emotionless face deepen to a scowl. "Well, it's getting late. You should get home now, your parents must be worried." She said. Mikan wanted to tell her that she had no parents, but simply walked out, with Sanjou-san tailing behind her. "Come back here tomorrow, directly from school, got it?"

Mikan nodded and stepped out the door, into the chilly October night. "Hikari, Chara Change." Hikari nodded and a star with an X appeared in her hair. Crouching slightly, she pushed off the ground and onto the roof of a nearby building, and was gone, away from the light and into the shadows.

"So what do you think of Mikan?" Utau asked. They exchanged glances before Rima spoke up. "This is the first time I've seen an X-Chara actually get along with its owner." Kusukusu nodded in agreement.

"Usually, X-Charas would fly away, like the case with Dia. More commonly though, the Chara usually disappears. However, this is when a person simply stops believing. With Hikari being an X-Chara, it means that Mikan-san is believing the opposite of what the reason Hikari was born, causing her to become an X-Chara." Kairi informed.

"I wonder what it feels like." Ikuto stated blankly. "Huh?" Eru asked. "He means~ nya, that none of know what is it to have a Chara turn into an X-Chara~ nya." Yoru translated. "Well, you're right." Utau agreed. "I wouldn't know what to do if Iru and Eru turned into X-Charas." She smiled at her Charas, and they smiled back.

Rima thought back. When they mentioned Amu's name, she noticed that the corners of Mikan's mouth turn slightly down. She could relate to that. Hinamori was always in the center of the spotlight, shutting them aside. It didn't matter what you were good at, she could probably outclass you in all ways possible. She had only met Amu once, and it was enough for her.

* * *

Don't worry, you'll all learn why Rima dislikes Amu in the later Chapters. Please remember to review!


	3. Girl's Day Out

Sorry if it's taking so long for me to update! I already have the next few chapters written out. This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, so I promise I'll make it up to you. Also, I have gotten several reviews requesting that this fanfiction be in the Crossover section. However, I plan on adding a dash of another anime in. But don't worry! Mikan won't have the power from the third anime. The main characters will just be friends. I think having Alices and Charas are quite enough.

I doubt you'd care, but I found a friend of mine on Fanfic! Finally. Her username is OjiHotoriTadase, I think. She told me over Facebook.

~November 17,2012

* * *

The next day, they sat back in the room where they were yesterday. "So, Mikan, do you know why we're making a band?" Sanjou-san asked. Mikan shook her head. "We're extracting X-Eggs." "Extracting X-Eggs?" Hikari asked. Sanjou-san nodded. "Utau's singing has a special property. It can turn people's unhatched heart's eggs into an X-Egg. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No." Mikan muttered, and Sanjou-san seemed pleasantly surprised, while the others seemed shocked.  
"Well, that concludes it, you've got the job. How do you feel?" Mikan perked up "What do you mean how do I feel?" She asked. "How you feel now about your life?" Sanjou-san clarified. After a moment's hesitation, Mikan answered. "Lost." "Lost? Good." Then, Sanjou-san turned to Rima. "What is the most important part of you?" She asked her. "Hmm? My soul, I guess." "Perfect." Sanjou-san commented. "Your band name are the Lost Soul, okay?" When no one protested, she smiled and left the room, after saying with a wink "Have fun getting acquainted."

For the next few minutes, all was silent, until- "Well, this is certainly awkward." Weakly commented Kusukusu. Mikan narrowed her eyes at Utau and Ikuto before asking "Are you two related?" She pointed at them. Utau looked surprised. "How did you know?" She asked. Mikan shrugged. "I just got the feeling, so are you related?" Utau nodded. "We're siblings." "Cool." Hikari commented.

Later that night, Mikan's cell phone rang when she and Hikari were in Mikan's room. Mikan was doing her homework, and Hikari was snacking on a sugar plate from a plate of them on a side table with a tiny cup of milk. Mikan picked up. "Hello?"  
"Mikan? It's me, Utau."  
"Yes?"  
"Would you mind if Rima and I came over to your house tomorrow for some girl bonding?" Utau asked. Mikan glanced at Hikari. Hikari nodded.  
"No, I wouldn't mind."  
"Thanks, we'll be over by ten in the morning, see you tomorrow!"  
And she hung up.

Mikan stared blankly at the phone for a while before turning back to her homework, missing Hikari's smile. _Finally, Mikan, Maybe you can start trusting again._

By the time Utau and Rima were at the door, Mikan was already dressed. Hikari had personally handpicked her outfit, and Mikan had to admit, she had a great taste. She had on a plain black skirt, a long sleeved white shirt under a baby blue t-shirt that read STAR in the middle of a large glittering star and many other smaller ones around it.

"You look great! Utau complimented her. "Thanks!" Mikan grinned. Utau and Rima blinked, possibly in surprise by the sudden personality change. Then, they hesitantly smiled back. "The outfit was coordinated by Hikari." Mikan informed them. "Really?" Kusukusu asked. "Then Hikari must have a good fashion sense." Rima said. "Thanks." Hikari showed just s hint of a smile.

"So where are we going?" asked Mikan, slipping on her black sandals. "Why, the mall of course!" Utau and Eru exclaimed. Mikan shrugged and grabbed her bag beside her. Inside were her other two unhatched Chara eggs.

(A/N~ Sorry for the time skip, but I don't really shopping and I don't really want to bore you.)

By five in the afternoon, it was beginning to get dark, and they were loaded with shopping bags. "Well, that was fun!" Utau exclaimed. Mikan and Rima glanced at each other and giggled. During the shopping trip, Mikan and Rima had somehow become friends, through their mutual desire to outclass Hinamori Amu. All of their Charas had been tired out and went back into their owners' bags for rest.

"Come on! One last store!" Utau pointed towards at pink themed store called_ Valentines_. "Fine, last one." Mikan grumbled. "You're such a shopaholic." Utau rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with a little shopping?" "A _little?_" Mikan emphasized. Rima giggled. "Just come on."

Mikan was looking at the small basket of necklaces and charm bracelets. One of the bracelet, however, caught her interest. She set her bags down and picked it up. It was a small crimson red heart shaped stone on a silver chain. It was beautiful, in a mysterious way. It seemed to draw her in. She considered it, should she buy it? She looked to check the price tag, only to find out that there was no price tag. "Huh?" She muttered and walked towards a young assistant. "Excuse me, do you know how much this costs?"

"Hold on, let me check." She told Mikan and took it. She went behind the counter and began typing away on the computer. A few moments later, she came out looking confused. "This item isn't in out catalog, I think someone might have dropped it. I guess you can just take it." She shrugged. Mikan smiled at her. "Thank you." She chirped and turned around, only to bump into a certain someone.

"Hinamori Amu?" Mikan stared disbelievingly. Amu and her Charas stared back. "Hey, Amu- chan, have you-" The person, Nadeshiko, stopped as she saw Mikan. The rest of the Guardians were behind her, Kukai and Nagihiko looking thoroughly embarrassed.

"I never pegged you as the type to be in a shop like this." Mikan told Amu. Amu blushed right down to her toes and exchanged glances with her red Chara. "…I'm here for my little sister!" She exclaimed triumphantly. Mikan sweatdropped. "Suuure." She said disbelievingly.

"Hey, Mikan? What do you think about this?" Utau popped her head from behind a shelf. "Hoshina Utau!" Came a voice form behind Mikan. The Guardians parted until Mikan could see Tadase and his royal Chara pointing their fingers at Utau. "Long time no see, little Tadase." Utau smirked and walked right passed him, disappearing into one of the aisles. He turned around "Where's Tsukiyomi Ikuto?!"

A moment later, she reappeared, tugging Rima along, without what she had originally wanted to buy. "Come on, we're leaving." She said, and Mikan followed without question.

"So how do you know Tadase?" Mikan asked, after several minutes. "Our parents were best friends, that is, until our father disappeared. But we were still close. That is, until Tadase's dog, Betty died. He blamed Ikuto, but it wasn't either of their faults. Tadase was too young then to understand to somethings had to die eventually, so he somehow found a reason to blame Ikuto. Honestly, I don't know, I wasn't there. I only know what Ikuto told me, and he didn't tell me a whole lot." Utau answered, obviously upset. "..Oh."

"I'm transferring." Rima offered, changing the subject. "Really? Where?" Utau asked interested. "I'm transferring to Seiyo Academy."

"Seiyo, really?" Mikan asked disbelievingly. "Yeah." Rima sounded a bit regretful. "That's where I go!" Mikan exclaimed. Rima brightened up. "At least I'll know somebody!" "On the downside, the Guardians are there too." Rima seemed to deflate a bit. "Don't worry, I'll be there."

The next day, Sanjou-san gave them their very first 'assignment' that had to be completed before the band could be officially formed. They had to gauge the Guardian's strength. Or, to put it simply, create as much chaos as possible.

The next day, Sanjou-san told them to help Mikan with her Character Transformation, seeing they all could Chara Transform. Only Rima, Utau, and Kairi showed up at the lonely ball field. Ikuto was somewhere else, minding his own business. Kairi started. "When you use your Character Transformation, you are getting 120% power from your Chara. Once in your Transformed state, you can use various attacks. For example, Rima's Chara Transformation, Clown Drop, can use 'Juggling Party' and 'Tightrope Dancer'. They are based of, well, circus acts. You following?" Kairi explained. Mikan nodded. "Utau will give you a demonstration." "Wait, what?! Why not you Kairi? You can transform into Samurai Soul!" Utau protested. Kairi sighed. "Look, do you want to help Mikan-san or not?" Hikari and Mikan looked at each other.

"Fine. Come on Iru." Utau had both hands in an L shape. "Watashi no Kokoro! Unlock!" She twisted the Ls looking like she was unlocking something. In a shower of sparks, Iru returned to her egg, and entered Utau's heart. "Lunatic Charm." Utau glowed so brightly that they all had to look away, and when the glow died down, they blinked away the spots in the spots in their eyes.

Utau was a red and black short strapless dress with thin, black running vertically down it. Trailing off the dress. The top had a dark red bat, Utau had thigh-high red boots, a detached collar with a cross, red-brown devil wings, and her two ponytails were held up by bat wings.

"Wow." Mikan commented. "You think I could do something like that?" "Keep practicing." Utau told her. "Okay, we'll start now." Musashi said. "Hold your hands up like this." Rima demonstrated. Mikan stood up, wincing, and did the same. "Now, repeat after me: Watashi no Kokoro, Unlock, but with feeling, like Utau."

"Watashi no Kokoro! Unlock!" Mikan cried. A soft glow enveloped her. Then, as they were staring, the glow burst like a bubble, leaving her clothes…white? "Well, that is certainly an interesting effect." Kairi muttered. "Well, it's not like I expected you to be able to do that. Only one person could do it right off the bat." Mikan grumbled.

"Who?" Hikari asked. "Hinamori Amu. She was able to do it within several minutes of her first Chara, Ran, her sporty side. Or, for your reference, the red one. Miki is the blue one, Suu is the green one, and Dia is the yellow one."

Mikan growled, startling everyone but Hikari. "I won't lose to that Hinamori Amu!" Utau smiled "Well that's the spirit!" and clapped her on the back. Neither Mikan nor Hikari noticed a crack appearing in the moon egg.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
A few days later, Rima stayed true to her word. It was a sunny Monday morning, and Mikan was already inside of the classroom. By the time Nikaidou-sensei had walked in the door, all of the students were already seated. "Okay class! Today we have another new student!"

"Really? Another one? I'm mean, Yukihara-san is great, but another one?"  
"Is it a boy or girl?"  
"I hope it's a cute girl!"  
"I hope it's a hot boy!"

"You can come in now Mashiro-san." The entire class was quiet as the door slid in.

Once the class was able to fully comprehend Rima's appearance, the was an enormous uproar.  
"It's a cute girl! My prayers have been answered!"  
"Nooo! Another girl?"

Then, Mikan heard someone clearing their throat.  
"Ahem!"  
As one, the entire class turned their heads. Mikan saw Amu standing up with the arms folded. Amu glared at the class. "_Sit down_." The class gulped and sat back down as quickly as possible. Mikan snorted. Leave it to Amu to have an iron grip on the class.

"Thank you Himamori-san." Nikaidou-sensei said cheerfully. "Now, how about we assign-" He paused in mid-sentence as every almost every boy raised their hands. "Well, how about-"  
"Yukihara." Rima said "What?" Nikaidou asked. "I want Mikan Yukihara."

"Any objections Mikan-chan?" Nikaidou-sensei asked. Mikan shook her head "No."

* * *

Please review! I would appreciate it!


	4. Tricking Them

I updated early for Thanksgiving! I have a lot of spare time today, so I decided to update. I got hooked on a new manga, Kagerou Days. It's really good! Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to my (real-life) friends Oji (Oji Hotori Tadse[She has a crush on him]) and Choco(Chococrayons).

~November 22, 2012

* * *

After school, Utau meet Mikan and Rima at the front gates. "Our first assignment is to create a couple of X-Eggs." She said. "How are we going to do that?" Mikan asked. "When I sing in Iru's Character Change, I can turn Heart's Eggs into X-Eggs." Utau explained. "Cool."Mikan commented. "You two will back me up in case anything happens. Take care of Eru for me." Utau instructed.

Soon, they were near the Guardian's greenhouse.

Utau stepped out into the middle of the road and Rima and Mikan dove into the bushed. She Chara Changed with Iru.

Ichiban no negaigoto oshiete  
~Anata no hoshii mono~  
BORYUUMU furikireru hodo tsuyoku  
Ookina koe de sakende mite

Taiyou ga mezamenu uchini  
Hajimeyou sekai wa  
Hikari ni tsukimatou Kage to odoru  
Sou kimi no te wo totte

Saa nani ga hoshii no? Nani wo motomeru no?  
Atsumeta kagayaki sono te no hira ni  
Subete sukui toru yogoreta yozora ni  
Kuroi DAIYAMONDO BURAKKU DAIYAMONDO

Small bat wings sprouted out of her back. And sure enough, around a dozen X-Eggs came floating closer.

Thump-thump-thump-thump. "Over here! I sense X-Eggs!" An over feminine voice called. "Utau! They're coming!" Rima hissed. Utau turned around, out of her Chara Change, and joined them in the bushes- just in the nick of time.

A few of the Guardians came running into sight.

"Watashi no Kokoro! Unlock! Amulet Heart!"  
Amu transformed into a pink two-piece cheerleaders' outfit. There was a light pink top with slightly darker pink ruffles and a golden lock with a pink jewel in the middle. She had a matching skirt, thick knee length socks, pink sneakers, and a pink ribbon chocker. She had a pink visor with a red heart resting in her pink hair, which was being partly held up by a ponytail.

"Watashi no Kokoro! Unlock! Beat Jumper!"  
Nagihiko had a ski vest on top of a white long sleeved shirt, blue shorts, a white ski cap, dark blue knee guards, and knee long black Converse sneakers.

"Watashi no Kokoro! Unlock Dear Baby!"  
Yaya had …er…a pink jumpsuit?(A/N~I don't really know how to explain it) She had large pink bunny ears attached to a ruffled hair band with big red bows, thigh-high yellow socks with rather large pink booties.

Mikan smirked and Utau and Rima turned to look confusingly in her direction. She whipped a camera out of her schoolbag. She used to keep a camera all the time at Alice Academy. You never knew what could happen. Rather unfortunately, it was one of Hotaru's inventions. She shrugged. She snapped several photos and Hikari grinned. "Smart plan." Hikari grinned, knowing what she had on mind.

"Heart Baton!" A bright pink baton capped with pink heart shaped jewels. She threw them, trapping several in a sparkling pink circle.

"Go Go Rubber Duckies!" Yaya shout pointing her fingers at a small group of X-Eggs. Rubber ducks materialized from thin air and shot towards the X-Eggs, limiting their movement.

"Beat Dunk!" A sphere of blue energy appeared in Nagihiko's hands. He raised it over his head, jumped up, and threw it down. Instead of it going straight down, it curved up, going in circles, confusing the last of the X-Eggs.

Slowly, the several groups of eggs became one scattered group. They stopped their attacks. Amu raised her hands in a heart shape. A glowing pink outline of a heart appeared behind Amu. "Open Heart!"

The pink heart blasted outwards towards the X-Eggs. Slowly, growing white spots began to bloom on the X-Eggs, until they were all pure eggs. The all flew away. Amu hit the ground and burst out of her Chara Nari, as did Nagihiko and Yaya did. "That's strange." Nagihiko said. "Why?" Yaya inquired. "We haven't seen any X-Eggs in a while, so why are there about a dozen here, so suddenly?" "We'll just report it to Tadase." Amu shrugged. Their chibis were floating around them once again. They left.

Why could Amu do that Open Heart thing? Why couldn't Mikan do that? Hadn't she been through much more than Amu? She bet that Amu never had her heart trampled on like that last day at Alice Academy. Next to her, Hikari sensed her thoughts. She shook her head as she watched Mikan. _If only you knew._

Utau stepped out from the bushes, stretching. "That wasn't very comfortable, especially since I'm a model." Mikan and Rima followed her example. "You're a model?" Mikan asked disbelievingly. They and their Charas both stared at Mikan and Hikari. "Didn't Sanjou-san mention it? As well as a band, we're models."

"Okay?" Mikan casually shrugged it off. Being a model would probably make her a lot more money than just being in a band. And she needed the money. To pay her rent, of course.

However, what was not so easy to shrug off was the big question. "What was that open heart thing Amu did?" Hikari asked. Rima and Kusukusu groaned. "That's the one thing they can do that we can't. They can cleanse X-Eggs, though they have gotten a little rusty for the long time without a lot them." Mikan clenched her fists. What was so special about that Hinamori Amu? What did she have that Mikan didn't?

"That reminds me," Utau added. "What's with the camera?" "Oh yeah!" Mikan pressed the picture button. Instantly, shots of Amu, Yaya, and Nagihiko fighting the X-Eggs came up. "What are you going to do with those?" Eru asked. Hikari smirked, and Eru cowered. "Mikan can ask about the Shugo Chara and not blow her cover as a possessor of a Shugo Chara. Also, she can get close to them." Mikan winced. She hadn't taken that last part into accounting. Iru grinned. "I like the way you think." "Thanks." Mikan and Hikari said simultaneously.

The next day after school, Mikan was strolling towards the Guardian's greenhouse. Yesterday, Utau and Rima had gone along with her to develop the picture into the photos to make it more dramatic. Hikari was safely tucked into her schoolbag.

Soon, she was at the door of the greenhouse. Peeling the sadistic grin off her face and replacing it with a cold, steely look, she pushed the doors open.

Every single person looked at Mikan as she walked in, even Yaya, who was stuffing her face with cupcakes. She marched up the steps and plopped down into one of the chairs, crossing her arms. "Is something the matter?" Nadeshiko asked. Mikan took a moment to analyze the Guardians. They had their little chibis floating around them, and they were staring at her as well. She locked eyes with what seemed to be Nadeshiko's Chara, the one in a kimono. Everyone seeing this action, gasped.

She reached into her bag, pulling out the photos, spilling them onto the table, and at the same time, saying "I want an explanation." They all crowded at the table. "Where did you get these?" Tadase asked. Mikan scowled. "I was taking pictures when they decided to show up and transform into some whacky costumes. After they transformed, I could see some black eggs floating."

Kukai sighed. "You'd better sit down."

"So you say that there are Charas, representations of dreams." She said slowly. They all nodded. "Then why can I see them when I don't have a Chara?" Mikan asked. She mentally patted herself on the back. She was an excellent actress.  
"Usually, only pure hearted children can see them. Although, in this case, I suppose that seeing the Chara Naris caused your eyes to open to this type of thing." Kukai explained, and threw a dirty look at Amu, Nagi (A/N~ I'm going to call him Nagi from now on), and Yaya. "How could you be so careless?" He asked Amu. "We assumed there would be no people, since it was after school…?" Nagi offered weakly. "No excuses!" Amu and the others groaned. They all knew what was in store. "More training?" Yaya asked. "You betcha!" Kukai flashed a smile. Suu sighed.

"This happens quite a lot, doesn't it?" Mikan asked Pepe, Yaya's baby Chara. She nodded. "It sure does."

* * *

Utau was waiting for her in her house. Mikan raised an eyebrow. "How did you get into my house?" She asked as she set her schoolbag down and pulled the cover back. Hikari flew out. "I got it from Sanjou-san." Utau answered. "Do I really want to know how Sanjou-san got a duplicate of my keys?" Mikan sighed. Iru and Eru shook their heads.

"Sanjou-san already decided who's-who in our band. Ikuto is the drummer, Kairi is the bass guitarist, Rima is the violin, I'm the vocalist, and you're the lyricist and another vocalist." Utau explained. "So I have to came up with the songs?" Mikan asked, groaning. "Yep!" Eru answered, smiling. "That sounds like a lot of work." Hikari said thoughtfully. Utau shrugged. "We-need-the-lyrics-by-next-week! Bye!" Utau said quickly, and ran out the door. Her Shugo Charas tailing after her. "Hey Utau, wait up!" Iru cried.

It took a moment for Utau's words to register in Mikan in Hikari's minds. "What?!" They shouted. Mikan groaned. "What am I going to do? I was never good at music to begin with."

"And that's part of the reason why I was born." Hikari smiled. Mikan raised an eyebrow. "What?" Hikari's grin widened. "Didn't I tell you I was musically inclined to begin with?" She said innocently. Mikan growled. "You never said any such thing!" "Oh yes I did!" Hikari laughed, as Mikan swiped the air next to her. Mikan was momentarily stunned. She had never heard Hikari laugh before.

"Is something the matter?" Hikari swooped down to eye level. Mikan shook her head. "okay, now for the big question," Hikari clapped her hands together, "do you object?" Mikan stared at her. "Object to what?" "Just answer me," Hikari sighed. "do you object?" "Err…no?"

"Good. Chara Change!" All of a sudden, Mikan sat straight up, with a star-X clip in her hair. She pulled out several sheets of loose-leaf paper and began scribbling on them so fast that Mikan swore that the graphite in the pencil was literally, hot to the touch.

Mikan and Hikari smiled at each other. "This is possibly my best work yet." Hikari snorted. "This is the first time you've written lyrics, so of course it would be your best work. It's your only work." Mikan glared. "Shut up."

The next day, she stopped by at Easter to hand Sanjou-san her lyrics. Mikan waited as Sanjou-san scanned the pages. "Well? How are they?" Mikan asked eagerly, then paused. She had asked that _eagerly_? She must want the praise more than she realized. "Hmm…good enough." Sanjou-san said. "But I want it to be better next time."

She placed the papers back into Mikan's hands and started to walk away. "Meet us here Wednesday after school." And with those final words, she left, leaving Mikan alone.

The rest of the week passed without much excitement. One of Rima's parents usually picked her up as soon as school ended, although Mikan couldn't see why. Utau was about year older, and didn't go to their school. Sometimes, they stopped at her apartment to say a quick hello and to deliver some news. Once, Rima had given her a simple blue headband with a snowflake on one side to symbolize their budding friendship.

When she asked Utau, she said that Rima had given her a few hair ties a few days after they had met. Now, Utau only used it for special occasions. Mikan had honored the gift. She had worn it every day since then, and it was still in mint condition. The first time Rima had seen her wear it, she had seemed pleasantly surprised.

Mikan had worked to the point of exhaustion on her Chara Nari. She still wasn't able to progress much. Why had Amu gotten it on her first try? She would **not ** let Amu outdo her. Never, ever.

Now, it was Wednesday, and here she was, in front of Easter again. She trudged up, wondering what possibly would have to make her go to Easter. Usually, it was the weekends. When Mikan reached the room where they all met, the door flew open in her face. Fortunately, Mikan quickly stepped back, her heart hammering.

"Utau?"

* * *

Please remember to update!


	5. Preperation

Finally! I've updated after a long time. Anyway, Kagerou Days was pretty good, but since it's fairly new, it's short so far. Other manga I've recently discovered is Pandora Hearts and A Certain Scientific Railgun. Railgun is AWESOME! It's one of the best manga I've ever read. EVER. Even though a lot of the charaters are girls, it's not really girly. AT ALL. THough there IS skirt-flipping, but that's Saten.  
*SPOLIERS*  
There's Accelerator, Kakine, Misaka(Railgun), Mugino(Meltdowner), Shokuho(Mental Out), the number 6, and Sogita(Atack Crash), the Level 5s right? Personally, I pity Misaka #1-...10,000somthing.

And I have a question. WHAT is the main pairing for A CERTAIN MAGICAL INDEX?  
But, early Merry Christmas. (I'm glad I survived 12/21/12 XD)  
~12/22/12

* * *

Utau was standing a few inches from her. "Oh, sorry, Mikan. I was in a hurry." "It's alright, but what going on?" Mikan inquired.  
"We need to get to the back door, come on!" Utau grabbed her wrist and flew down the labyrinth of hallways, leaving their Chara's scrambling to catch up.

Mikan tried to remember the passages in case she ever got lost. A left, a right, another right, The fifth door down, left, second door on the right…it was too confusing. Might as well just give up. She had no idea how Utau knew where to go.

Mikan clutched Utau's hand tighter. She had not wanted to get lost here. She turned her head around. She could see the Charas a bit behind them, but Iru and Eru seemed to know where they were going. She kept her hand over her small shoulder-bag, no wanting one of her other two eggs to slip out and get lost.

After an eternity spent running around in the labyrinth, Utau pushed open a door marked _Exit_. Outside was a mini-van, with the rest of the band members already there. Mikan panted. She looked over at Utau.  
She had barely broken a sweat. Mikan internally sighed. She really needed to work on her athletic abilities.

Behind them, their Charas were floating around. Oddly enough, none of them looked even remotely tired. Floating around must take less effort than running. "Get in the car." Utau commanded as she climbed onto the mini-van.

She was squashed in between Ikuto and Rima. Needless to say, she did not enjoy being around Ikuto, much less squished into him. He _had_ been giving her odd looks recently… Like he was figuring out a difficult math problem. Mikan _did not_ like that look.

In half an hour, they arrived at the back of the city stadium. They filed out one by one into the backstage. "Why are we here?" Mikan asked Kairi. "It's our first concert." Kairi and Musashi looked at her strangely.

It only took a moment for it to sink in. "What?!" "You mean Utau didn't tell you?" Iru butted in. "No" Hikari replied nervously. "Yukihara Mikan?" A young woman called from inside one of the rooms. Mikan gulped, and she and Hikari disappeared inside.

The room was large, bigger than her classroom. There was a long rack of clothes on one side, a full-length mirror, and a make-up table with a mirror. The young woman followed her in. Upon closer inspection, she was much younger than Mikan realized. At most, she was about several years older than Mikan herself.

"Hello, Mikan-chan, I am Yuko." Yuko had short dark blonde hair and black eyes. "I'm yours and the other girls' stylist. The boys have Yuki, my brother. So you're up first." She said cheerfully.

"So, uhh…can I sit down?" Mikan asked. "No!" Yuko pointed her finger at the center of the room. "You will stand there!" She sighed and did what she was told. Once she put her bag down on one of the chairs around the room, she stood where Yuko wanted her to.

Hikari had glided to the make-up table, checking out the rows of eyes shadow, lipsticks and other junk. Mikan had never really liked make-up. A little bit every once in a while was fine, but a few of the girls in Alice Academy wore so much. They looked like clowns spray-painted with liquid Cheetoes.

"So, what type of look do you like?" Yuko asked as she circled around Mikan.  
"What type of look?" She asked.

Mikan's nerves were messed up, the anticipation of performing in front of an audience. What is she embarrassed herself? What if she tripped on stage? What if she forgot the lyrics to her song? What if-

"So I think casual would be the best for you, but I guess that depends on the situation. Casual every concert is boring, isn't it?" Yuko chattered. "Huh? Oh, yeah." Mikan snapped out of her thoughts. "For your petite friend, Mashiro Rima, a feminine look would work best. She has a good built for it. Rima'll have the boys after her in no time at all!" Yuko grinned. Mikan grumbled. This lady had an endless amount of energy.

"For Hoshina Utau, the dark and slightly gothic look would contrast beautifully with her hair and eyes!" She exclaimed triumphantly. "Of course, the colors will be a bit brighter since it's your first concert. Each one till have a color theme. This time, it's violet!"

"Can it not be violet?" Mikan asked.  
"Why not?" Yuko asked.  
"Well, my school uniform has violet in it, and I wear it… a lot. So, I'm a bit tired of it, if you see what I mean." Mikan gave a nervous laugh.  
"Well, then we'll have blue, how's that?"  
"Fine."  
"Good, I'm done evaluating." Yuko withdrew herself to a large rack of clothes in all different sizes and colors.

A few moments later, Yuko came out. She was holding a faded pair of blue jeans, a white tank top with lace at the bottom, and a hoodie in a darker shade of blue. "Here, put these on." She said, thrusting the clothes at Mikan.

"What about shoes? Where will I put my clothes?" Mikan asked. Yuko grinned. "I like you. The others followed my directions like drones. But you asked. Come out barefoot. Leave your clothes in the changing room. Take the one marked Y.M."

A few minutes later, Mikan came out, wearing the clothes Yuko had wanted her to. Yuko hurried over. "Perfect! Except this." Yuko grabbed onto the zipper, which Mikan had pulled up all the up to her neck. She pulled it all the way down until the sides detached. "Now it's good."

Yuko gestured to the seat in front of the make-up table, where Hikari's egg was. She must have gotten tired and curled up for a short nap. Mikan sat in the chair.

After a short while, Yuko was done. Mikan had to admit, Yuko was good at her job. She had taken off her headband and placed it on the table. She said Mikan could come to retrieve it after the concert. Instead, she put two black sparkling hairclips that pulled the left side of her hair away from her face. "Normally, we would have done more, but you were a bit late, so maybe next time." Yuko looked disappointed. But she brightened up and handed her a pair of regular black converse.

"Hold on, what's on your wrist?" Yuko asked, gabbing her right hand. "A bracelet I found."  
Not exactly a lie.  
"Hmm… I guess you can keep it on."  
"Now, shoo. Go call Rima in. You can leave you stuff here."  
"Hey, Hikari!" Mikan hissed under her breath. Yuko didn't even give her a chance to put her shoes on.  
Hikari's X-Egg cracked and she quickly followed Mikan outside. The whole gang looked at her, save Ikuto, who wasn't present. "Rima you're next." Mikan pointed to the door. Rima nodded. "Come, on Kusukusu."

Rima was nervous. Her parents would normally never had allowed her to join a band. "We don't want someone to kidnap you again." They'd say. So, Rima was glad that Sanjou-san had somehow won her parents over. If she hadn't, she would have never met Utau and Mikan.

She had met Utau first, and she had been downright friendly and cheerful. She also had been surprised. She had only met one person with a Shugo Chara. Hinamori Amu. They had met when she was younger, well, no really. Amu didn't know her, but she knew Amu.

"_Hey, Amu-chi!" An orange haired girl had called. Rima looked up. She had been sitting on the swings, it moving ever so slightly. It was in a park near her house. Amu had apparently been the pink haired girl she had been silently admiring earlier on. She had _four_ Charas, and Rima had only one: Kusukusu. _

_They had been playing basketball. Rima's parents wouldn't let her play sports if they could help it. It was a miracle that they had let her join a small band "sponsored" by Easter._

_There were other people too, a purple haired boy, a blonde boy, the orange haired girl, a purple haired girl, and of course, Amu._

"_Amu! Toss it here!" The purple haired boy shouted, waving his arms over the purple haired girl, who was planning on intercepting the ball. The X in her hair suddenly changed to a heart, and she leaped. Rima had never seen anyone jump so high._

_It went clear above the purple girl's head, and into the other one's arms. He ran towards a hoop, and slam dunked it in after the blonde had tried to stop him. The others' Shugo Chara cheered. The purple head who made the dunk grinned and rubbed the back of his head._

_Then he spotted Rima. "Hey, do you want to play basketball with us?" Rima looked in surprise. The others turned to look at her. Thankfully, Kusukusu was at home, since she wanted to spend the day watching cartoons. "Umm…" Rima fiddled with her fingers. She thought about what her parents might say. Her father was coming to pick her up any moment now. _

"_What, too chicken?" Rima looked in surprise. It was Amu, her hairclip an X again. The others flickered between her and Amu. Rima bit back small tears that threatened to well up in her eyes. No, Amu didn't understand. She wanted to play. She couldn't believe it. _This _was the girl she had been admiring? _This _ was how she treated others? Well, Rima didn't admire her anymore. _

_Her father's car pulled up on the road. Perfect timing. _


	6. Concert

Sorry! I would have updated earlier, but I got knocked out with the flu epidemic that's coming around our state area (I heard Boston limited public area access cuz of this). Anyway, here it is! You should **REALLY** listen to the song, they're really good. Just type "headphone actor ia" or "children record ia". I is my fav. Vocaloid, as to most peoples' Miku. They're part of the song series Mekaku City (I think, or is it called Kagerou Days? That's what the manga is called...) They even have a manga series. If you have any new manga/anime series you'd think I'd like, give me the title!

**Important!-**Well, kinda, I suppose. I heard that the author of Gakuen Alice has another manga, Portrait of MxN, nothing to do with Mikan or Natsume whatsoever. I checked it out. I must say...0.0 that's really...extreme...Well, I can say it's not intended for the faily young...

~January 13, 2013

* * *

She had resented Amu ever since. "Welcome! I'm Yuko!" A pretty young woman greeted her. She had blonde hair and black eyes. "Put your stuff down!" She pointed to a small shelf, where Rima saw another bag. Mikan's. She delicately placed her bag next to Mikan's. She looked around the room. It was well lit, and had a lot of space. There were three changing rooms.

She noticed a blue hair band on the make-up table. It was the one she had given Mikan. She admitted it. It had made her surprised and pleased that Mikan was using her gift. They could be good friends. Mikan didn't like Amu either. Why? Mikan never told her.

"I already decided on your look while you friend was changing. You'll have the feminine look!" Yuko was too bubbly for her taste, it reminded of the orange haired girl, whose name she later found out, Yuiki Yaya.

She disappeared into a rack of clothes, leaving Rima standing there with Kusukusu. "This'll be fun right Rima?" Kusukusu asked. Rima nodded. "A lot of fun."

Yuko came back with her outfit in her hand. It was a short white one-piece dress with white ruffles with baby blue outlined underneath. She had a thin short jacket with long sleeves the same baby blue hue. It only went up to her chest and appeared to be made of cashmere.

"Go change." Yuko said, pointing towards the small rooms. "Umm…which one?" Rima asked, confused. Yuko brightened. "Now I'm really looking forward to this! You girls ask questions! The second one, leave your shoes and clothes inside."

A short while later, Rima came out. "Sit down." Yuko patted the chair in front of the make-up table. Obediently, Rima sat. She watched as Yuko dug around in one of the boxes off to the side. She pulled out a blue head band with a bow on top.

Rima pulled off her own black one, put it on the table, and held her hands out. Yuko dropped it into her hands, and Rima put it on.

"Okay! You're ready to go! Call Utau in, will you?" Rima nodded. "Kusukusu." She whispered. Kusukusu muttered. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

"Utau, your turn." Rima told Utau. She nodded. "Iru, Eru, stay." Utau continued on into the room by herself.

The door opened again, and Utau came out. By the time Utau came out, they boys were already outfitted by Yuki. They both wore jeans and shirts different shades of blue. Kairi had a thin green jacket.

Sanjou-san came to give them a "talk". "Don't use your Character Change." She had told Utau. "We need to draw in big crowds, then we'll use it, got it?" A nod. "Leave your Charas offstage. There might be a Chara possessor in the crowd, so we'll have trouble on our hands if someone spots them, got it?" Nods. "Now, go." She waved her hand.

"You're ready, right?" Utau asked, seemingly at comfort. They had all placed their Charas, whom morphed back to Egg form, in a large basket, and covered it with a large, thick towel.

Mikan and Rima stiffly nodded. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it after a while." Utau reassured. "Relax, and it'll be fine."

They took their positions of stage. "Ready?" Sanjou-san called out. They all nodded. The curtains pulled up, to reveal a huge stadium full of "fans". Mikan was mentally gawking. Almost everything had the Easter logo on it. She wanted to ask Utau if Easter had really gone overboard with the advertisement.

"We'll be starting now." Utau whispered to Mikan, who was right next to her, and in front. They were the closest to the mass of people.

1…2…3!

"Headphone Actor"

_sono hi wa zuibun to heibon de_  
_atarisawari nai ichi nichi datta_  
_himatsubushi ni kii te ta rajio (radio) kara_  
_ano hanashi ga nagaredasu made wa_

_"hijou ni zannen na koto desu ga,_  
_honjitsu chikyuu wa owari masu" to_  
_doko ka no kuni no daitouryou ga_  
_naki nagara hanashi o suru made wa_

_mado no soto wa ookina tori tachi ga_  
_sora ooi tsukushiteku juutai chuu_  
_mikazuki o nomikon de_  
_dokoka he to mukatteru_

_yari kake te ta gemu (game) wa no sebu (save)_  
_tsukue ni hobo tetsukazu sankou sho_  
_furueru karada o inasu youni_  
_suguni heddo fon o shita_

_fumei na atisuto (artist) koumoku no_  
_taitoru (title) fumei no nanba (number) ga_  
_totan ni mimimoto nagaredashita_  
_"ikinokori tai deshou"_

_ugomeki dasu sekai kaijou o_  
_namiutsu you ni yureru matenrou_  
_magire mo nai kono koe wa dou kii te mo_  
_kiki aki ta jibun no koe da_

_"ano oka o koe tara ni-ju-byou de_  
_sono imi o iya demo shiru koto ni naru yo_  
_utagawa nai de, mimi o sumase_  
_tara ni-ju- byou saki he_

_kousaten wa touzen dai juutai_  
_mou rounyakunannyo wa kankei nai_  
_dogou yara akanbou no nakigoe de umatte iku_

_abaredasu hito naki dasu shoujo_  
_inori dashita shinpu o oinui te_  
_tada hitori mezasu no wa gyaku houkou_  
_ano oka no mukou he to_

_heddo fon kara izen koe ga shite_  
_"ato ju-ni fun da yo" to tsugeru_  
_kono mama subete kiesatte shimau nara_  
_mou subei wa nai darou_

_zawameki dasu himei gasshou o_  
_namida me ni natte kasumeru ju-byou_  
_utagai tai kedo dare ga dou yatte mo_  
_owara nai jinrui sanka_

_"kakenukero mou nokori ichi fun da"_  
_sono kotoba mo mou kikoe nai kurai ni_  
_tada mezashite ita oka no mukou wa_  
_sugu me no mae ni_

_iki mo taedae tadoritsui tan da_  
_sora o utsushidasu kabe no mae ni_  
_sono mukou hakui no kagakusha tachi wa_  
_"subarashii" to te o utta utagau yo_

_soko kara miru machi no fuukei wa_  
_marude jikken shisetsu no you de sa_

_"mou fu hitsuyou da"_

_kagakusha wa katatema ni bakudan o nageta_  
_hako no naka no chiisana sekai de_  
_ima made zutto ikite kitan dana to_

_moetsuki te iku machi datta mono o_  
_tada, bouzento miru mimimoto de_  
_heddo fon no mukou kara_

_"gomen" ne to koe ga shita_

The crowd cheered wildly. "Thank you all for appearing for our concert! Since this our first, we'll have only two songs. The concerts after this will have more I promise!" She waved at the crowed, and everyone cheered. Mikan was stunned. She had never sang before such a huge crowd. And they were cheering. Mikan let a slow smile creep up to her face. Before she knew it, all of the members of Lost Soul were waving, even Ikuto, the most isolated one.

"This is our last song of the night!"

"Children Record"

_Shiroi IYAHON o mimi ni ate sukoshi niya to shite aizu suru_  
_Shimikonda kono ondo ga DOA o NOKKU shita shunkan ni afuresou ni naru yo_  
_"Mada mienai?" Me o kogorashite nozomu soudatsusen_  
_Ano hi choucho shita nouri kara "Ima da, torimodose" to KOODO ga naridashisou_

_Itoshikute, tsurakute, sekai o kiratta HITO no_  
_Hidoku rifujin na "Kousei"_  
_Koutei shite icha mirai wa umidasenai_

_Shounen shoujo mae o muku kureru enten sae kibouron datte_  
_"TSUREMODOSE" "TSUREMODOSE"_  
_Mikazuki ga akaku moeagaru_  
_Saa saa, KOODO o zero de kizame_  
_Souzouryoku no gaisoku no sekai e OOBAA na kuusou sensen e_

_"O-saki ni douzo" tte shita o dasu yoyuu butta mujaki na me_  
_"Hora deban da" PASUWAADO de me o samashita ja jama wa tomaranai_  
_Mou yoru ga fukaku naru "OKOSAMA" nara moeru enchousen_  
_Gyakkyou guai ga KUURU daro? Nerenai ne mada mada hora hayaku! Hayaku!_

_IN TEMPO de shisen o awasete HAI TACCHI de BIITO ga naridaseba_  
_Kangaete cha osoi deshou? Hora nokkatte kou ze_  
_WAN KOODO de shisen o awasete buttonda GURUUBU ga uzumakeba_  
_Joudan ja nai mieru hazu sono HAI ENDO no fuukei no sukima ni_

_Saa doudai, kono atsusa mo surechigai sou datta kachikan mo_  
_"Warukunai kana" me o hiraki, te o toriattara_  
_Angai CHIIPU na kotoba mo "Aikotoba da" tte ii aeru._  
_Sukoshi dake mae o mukeru_

_Shounen shoujo, mae o muku yureru enten sura kibouron datte_  
_Omoidashi, kuchi ni dasu fukashigi na deai to wakare o_  
_"Nee nee, toppi na sekai no koto sanzan datte warai tobasetanda"_  
_Aizu ga owaru_

_Shounen shoujo mae o muke kuramu enten sura kibouron datte_  
_"TSUKAMITORE" "TSUKAMITORE" to taiyou ga akaku moeagaru_  
_Saa saa, KOORU da. Saigo no shiyou saizensaku wa sono me o mihiraita_  
_OOBAA na mousou sensen kanjousei no MEBIUSU no saki e_

The crowd, which had been silent, roared. Mikan beamed. She had never felt this good, with this many people shouting their approval. Her old "friends" at Gakuen Alice never made her fell remotely this way. Tonight, she was floating on a pink cloud.

"Encore!"  
"Encore!" They crowd screamed at the top of their lungs.

Utau grabbed the microphone. "I'm sorry, but that's all for tonight!" And she hurried of the stage, leaving the others walking after her.


End file.
